Formerly homeless Damar student with autism to be honored at Sunday's Colts game

Damar Charter Academy senior Alec Deuel was homeless and fought learning barriers. Soon he will graduate as valedictorian and will have fully covered college tuition.
Jenna Watson, jenna.watson@indystar.com

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Alec Deuel, a senior at Damar Charter Academy in Indianapolis, poses for portrait at the school on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. Deuel will likely become valedictorian of his class, after overcoming homelessness and learning barriers. His tuition to University of Indianapolis will be fully covered, in large part by the Senator Richard G. Lugar Award of Academic Distinction.(Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)Buy Photo

Students' hand-drawn name tags and motivational posters lined the classroom's bright blue walls at Damar Charter Academy. Across the back wall hung a cut-out, bubble-letter banner.

"Hard work doesn't guarantee success but improves its chances."

For 18-year-old Alec Deuel, it was a combination of hard work, a supportive base and the perfect setting that helped him overcome obstacle after obstacle.

Diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder as an elementary student, he struggled in a traditional classroom setting. After enrolling at Damar as an eighth grader, he and his mother experienced a period of homelessness.

"Once I started at Damar, all that frustration was gone," Deuel said, "because I was able to work at my own pace on topics that I didn’t know or I knew but wasn’t completely sure of.”

Through it all, he flourished. At Damar, Deuel was given the space he needed to work and the support he needed to grow socially and emotionally — and it's made all the difference.

Deuel is on track to be the school's valedictorian this spring. He already has been accepted to the University of Indianapolis, where his tuition will be paid in full. And he's got big plans: A master's in archaeology and a doctorate in paleontology so he can someday lead a classroom of his own.

To celebrate his successes, Deuel has been selected as the Damar MVP at this Sunday's Indianapolis Colts game, an honor given to Damar clients or students who have overcome major obstacles or made remarkable progress.

"It's been amazing just to see what he’s been able to accomplish with the difficulties that he’s faced growing up," said Jennifer Atkinson, Deuel's mother. "And I can’t be more proud of him."

'It's what he needed'

Deuel was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder when he was in third grade, but he had been showing signs and symptoms since he was 2, Atkinson said.

"I was a young mom, divorced, and just had to rely on everyone saying, 'Oh, he’s a boy; he’ll grow out of it.' … But the aggression wasn’t normal, you know, and the developments weren’t really normal."

But it was clear Deuel was highly intelligent.

"He taught himself how to read," Atkinson said. "He was doing multiplication when he started kindergarten. And it was that very first year that I reached out ahead of time to the administration at the school he was going to attend and said, 'Hey, I don't know if kindergarten is the right place for him.'"

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From right, Alec Deuel, a senior at Damar Charter Academy in Indianapolis, and his mother Jennifer Atkinson pose for portrait at the school on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. Atkinson, a single mother, and Deuel stayed in a women and children's shelter for nearly a year beginning in October 2014. After overcoming homelessness and learning barriers related to his autism, Deuel will likely become valedictorian of his class. His tuition to University of Indianapolis will be covered by grants, merit-based scholarships and federal aid. (Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)

Because he had never been in a classroom setting, Atkinson said, school administrators told her he had to start in kindergarten. Socially, he wasn't ready to move up a grade, but academically, he was frustrated.

"I continued to fight with the school to actually get him an education," she said. "Even in the advanced classes … he would still be bored. He would still act out."

Deuel enrolled at Damar Charter Academy at the beginning of his eighth grade year. But then life threw up another obstacle: In October 2014, Deuel and Atkinson became homeless.

Despite everything that had happened, Atkinson saw her son's frustration begin to melt away as he flourished at the academy.

"It's what he needed," she said.

Advocating for students

Since 2011, Damar Charter Academy has served hundreds of Indianapolis youth through educational programs and behavioral-support services.

Across its 13 classrooms, the academy supports 195 K-12 students on their educational journeys. Sometimes, that results in a high school diploma. In other cases, students receive vocational training and career preparation.

"We advocate for the students constantly, whatever it is," said Julie Gurulé, director of student services. "'Hey, you need this class? Well, we will find a way to make it happen somehow.'"

Prior to Deuel's enrollment, Gurulé remembered Atkinson describing her son as a bright boy with some challenges who may be more advanced than any student the school's faculty had worked with.

"And sure enough, he never let us down with that," Gurulé said. "He absolutely proved that that was true, and it was pretty incredible to watch him just fly through the content on some of these courses and really demonstrate what he knew."

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Senior Alec Deuel walks into his classroom at Damar Charter Academy in Indianapolis, where students have been working on a hands-on holiday project, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. Deuel will likely become valedictorian of his class, after overcoming homelessness and learning barriers. His tuition to University of Indianapolis will be fully covered, in large part by the Senator Richard G. Lugar Award of Academic Distinction.(Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)

Students receive more support at Damar than in a traditional classroom setting, Deuel said, because its teachers are more focused on the individual.

"The teachers are actually willing to work with you, give help when you need it," he said. "Instead of teaching to a test.”

Because of that, he tested out of algebra within the first few days of school. Right now, he is learning Spanish — a challenge he called "entertaining" because he is learning new tenses and mastering pronunciation.

Following his dreams

All that hard work paid off.

Deuel scored a 30 on the ACT — just six points shy of a perfect score and well over the 22.6 average for Indiana students, according to Prep Scholar. He is on track to be the school's valedictorian this spring and will be the school's first graduate to earn the Core40 Diploma with Academic Honors.

This fall, he will start working toward a master's degree in archaeology. The boy who at age 6 could name virtually every dinosaur and sort them by their geological period hopes to earn a doctorate in paleontology and become a professor.

"The campus is beautiful," Deuel said. "But the classes, I’ve sampled a few of the classes, and frankly I think I’m gonna like all of them."

The family will still have to pay for his participation in UIndy's BUILD program, which supports students with learning disabilities, but it's a relief to know the bulk of his education is taken care of.

"This was the one thing I was optimistic about throughout his entire high school career," Atkinson said.

"And it's not that we are taking by any means for granted the blessing of what UIndy sent us yesterday, but just knowing that it's almost like I prayed for it enough, and it happened."

Atkinson wants to see her son realize the potential she knows he's had all along.

"I hope that he’ll be able to fulfill his dreams."

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Senior Alec Deuel's desk marker is seen hanging in his classroom at Damar Charter Academy in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. Deuel will likely become valedictorian of his class, after overcoming homelessness and learning barriers. His tuition to University of Indianapolis will be fully covered, in large part by the Senator Richard G. Lugar Award of Academic Distinction.(Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)